It appears that the numbers on the Spy line basically checked out as an R/GA spokesperson has confirmed that the IPG-owned agency, which now houses 13 global offices, has had to reduce staff this week. Here’s the statement that pretty much sums it up:

“R/GA’s growth and the expansion of offices have led to the creation of a new model in New York, which has been broken out into eight groups that function as independent agencies. The implementation of this model has led to a realignment of staff, and 23 positions across departments and capabilities in the New York office will be affected. This reduction represents less than 2% of our staff. We regret to see these talented staff members depart, and hope that we’ll see some of them return in the future.

R/GA is growing in New York and expanding internationally, which shows that our movement to a group model is working. These necessary changes ensure that R/GA will continue to maintain the highest standards of creative work and client support.”

But why are they keeping it hush-hush if so? We called the agency for the digital age’s NYC hub and the person we spoke to didn’t have a contact number for the office and said she “didn’t think so” when asked if R/GA Portland had opened its doors. Hmm, well, for the last few days, we’ve been getting tips like this: “rga portland open for bizness. snatched up best creative from chicago office.” OK, perhaps the grammar doesn’t lend to its legitimacy, but the agency, which just took over for Razorfish on Samsung’s U.S. digital account, is officially hiring in the PDX and has been as far back as January.

Normally, R/GA’s PR folks are happy to send us announces boasting new office openings, which have happened quite often over the last year alone, but now they’ve been unusually unresponsive. Who knows, perhaps they’re formalizing things including staff and even the press release, but whatever the case, the office in Portlandia would be the 13th in the network. If anyone has a contact or knows who the R/GA Chicago creative is who headed to the Northwest, give us a shout in the tips box or at agencyspy at gmail dot com.

After spending nearly the last three years at Digital Kitchen Chicago, where he served as executive producer/general manager, Jeff Brecker has moved over to R/GA’s Windy City office to assume the role of managing director. Brecker replaces Sean McCarthy, who parted ways with the agency for the digital age last fall and is now in the same role at Resource Interactive.

Anyhow, the new R/GA Chicago MD has high praise for his new boss Bob Greenberg, saying in a statement that R/GA’s founder “…is one of the greatest visionaries of our time, and it’s an honor to work with and learn from him. R/GA Chicago has a reputation as a high-end digital boutique backed by a global agency leader known for creating progressive digital and social solutions.” Prior to his stint at Digital Kitchen, Brecker served as SVP/creative director at Leo Burnett and has also served as director of interactive production at Ogilvy during his career.

Wait, didn’t this just happen, like twice over recently? Well, yes, but R/GA appears to be opening up shop like Barnes & Noble in the late 90s/early aughts, the latest being an L.A. office, which has officially opened its doors just two months after the agency for the digital age settled in Sydney. The new Santa Monica branch marks R/GA’s second California-based space, following San Francisco of course, and currently houses five staffers with seven open positions that are in the process of being filled over the next couple of weeks. According to the IPG agency, the goal is to expand to 30 employees in its first year.

As for leadership, R/GA plucked several staffers from within including a few who worked on Nike business for years such as Tara Greer, ECD, experience design, Mark Laughlin, ECD, visual design, and Luke Stiles, senior technology director. Rounding out the management in the City of Angels are Andy Sullivan, MD/biz dev, senior producer Chris Sullivan and Steve Weinswig, currently VP/managing director at R/GA SF who will pull double-duty for the time being as interim managing director in LA.

In terms of clients, those in the know tell us that the R/GA L.A. crew is “working with an existing client that we aren’t able to disclose right now along with moving forward in some pitch work for clients in the area.”
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If the name Peter Kim sounds somewhat familiar, it’s because it was only two months ago that R/GA’s managing director, business information was appointed to the management team of the agency’s new Austin office. But alas, after spending just five months in all at “the agency for the digital age,” Kim has headed back to familiar territory, joining up with data-driven marketing firm Dachis Group, which he helped start back in 2008, to assume the newly created position of chief solutions architect.

Why the return to Dachis, where he was employee number one and originally served as chief strategy officer? Well, on his blog today, Kim explains that “I was pleasantly surprised by the progress that had been made during my absence. The tools are the most advanced offerings in market today and continuing to evolve. I also realized that the challenges that Dachis Group is solving for – how to help marketers make social business work – are the same challenges that have been driving me ever since I joined Forrester Research in 2005. These issues were initially unknown at the advent of corporate social media; identifying the knowable and moving clients into the known is immensely satisfying for me.”

We’re checking to see if R/GA has a replacement planned for Kim, who in his new role at his old haunt will be responsible for “the continuous definition, development, and delivery of data-driven social marketing solutions for Dachis Group’s global clients and client prospects.”

It’s been in the works for a while now, but R/GA has now officially opened its doors in Sydney, making this the 12th office in the IPG-owned agency’s network. The news comes just a month after “the agency for the digital age” set up shop in Austin to focus on its mobile and social business capabilities.

As for the office Down Under, R/GA’s initial plan is to hire six full-timers by February and build staff count to nine by end of Q1. The Sydney branch already has three in the bag, though, including R/GA vet/managing director Ameer Youssef as well as new hires, ECD Gavin McLeod (we know you’re humming The Love Boat theme as we speak) and creative director Joshua Rowe. The aforementioned Aussie natives previously served as creative director at Whybin TBWA / Integer and ACD at M&C Saatchi, respectively. As for Youssef, the R/GA camp says the MD will help build the office and once it’s in place, he will find a long-term replacement for this position.

R/GA Sydney will initially stay local on the client front, servicing the likes of Qantas and Rip-Curl.

The self-proclaimed “agency for the digital age” continues its expansion as R/GA has now opened its doors in downtown Austin. The new office, which by our count marks the tenth in the agency’s global network, currently houses 15 staffers and will focus on R/GA’s mobile and social business capabilities. Leading the team, though from afar at R/GA’s NYC HQ, will be Richard Ting, who’s been with R/GA for over a decade and was most recently bumped up to EVP, global ECD, mobile and social platforms.

Joining Ting in overseeing the new Austin office are fellow R/GA cohorts Kyle Bunch, who’s been with the agency for over five years and serves as group director, mobile and social platforms, ECD Paul Dery, Katrina Bekessy, director, technology and design, and last but not least, Peter Kim, managing director, business transformation. After setting up the new Austin branch for the last few weeks, R/GA officially opened up shop within the last. The expects to grow the office, located in downtown’s Littlefield Building, to between 30 and 50 staffers by end of 2013.

While we’re on the R/GA tip, we got a link to a rather amusing effort from the agency, which would not officially comment on the matter, that lets people “Break Up with Cable” via a meme-maker. It’s part of a campaign for Verizon FiOS and we’ve posted a couple of our fave ones created after the jump. You can also customize your own and have fun at Time Warner or some other provider’s expense. We think Patrick Stewart would probably get a kick out of this. Maybe you will, too.

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Sources familiar with the matter confirm that Sean McCarthy, who has spent nearly three years as VP, managing director at R/GA’s Chicago office, is leaving the “agency for the digital age,” though we’ve yet to hear word on exactly where he’s headed to next. McCarthy has been with R/GA since the IPG agency officially set up shop in the Windy City in early 2010. Prior to R/GA, the exec spent 18 months as SVP/group account director at DDB Chicago, where he oversaw direct, digital and mass efforts for AT&T’s B2B business.

McCarthy spent the majority of his advertising career, though, at Draftfcb, working on the account side in both London and Chicago before finally spending six years as VP/management director at the latter office. From what we hear, McCarthy turned in his resignation at R/GA last week. We’ll keep you posted if and when we hear more.

The “agency for the digital age” recently brought on a pair of Aussie ad guys, namely John McKelvey and Hannes Ciatti (pictured l-r), who have both spent the last two years as senior creatives at Whybin\TBWA. The lads from Down Under join R/GA’s New York hub as creative directors working across the agency’s Nike and Google accounts.

Before their TBWA days, McKelvey and Ciatti, whose creative foundation lies in copywriting and art directing, respectively, worked at different agencies with the latter serving as digital CD at Saatchi Australia as well as a creative partner at Droga5 Sydney while the former served as senior art director at M&C Saatchi’s Mark division. The new hires will report R/GA EVP/global CCO and fellow Aussie native, Nick Law.

We’ve received confirmation that after just 11 months into his role as group executive creative director on the Nike account, among others, at R/GA, Steve Whittier is leaving the “agency for the digital age.” No further details have been provided, but during his brief stint at R/GA, Whittier also worked on Nike-owned Converse, Verizon and new business. The creative exec joined R/GA from Y&R, where he spent 18 months as North American integrated CD and worked on the Airwalk as well as the global Land Rover launch. We’ll keep you posted if and when we hear more on his last day, next venture, etc.